DUBAI, Dec 14 (Reuters) – An Iranian court has sentenced Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh to 10 years in prison for working at a U.S.-funded radio outlet, his lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghasi said on X on Saturday.
An Iranian court has sentenced Reza Valizadeh, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and former journalist for RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, to 10 years in prison on charges of “collaborating with a hostile government.” https://t.co/4kB1JQvLoK
— Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) December 14, 2024
Iran and the U.S. State Department earlier acknowledged the imprisonment in Iran of Valizadeh, who previously worked for Prague-based Radio Farda, an outlet under Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that is overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
“Valizadeh’s punishment for the crime of working at Radio Farda is ten years imprisonment, a ban on residence in Tehran province and neighbouring provinces, a ban on leaving the country and membership in political parties, etc. for two years,” Aghasi said.
Iran does not recognise second nationalities and treats dual nationals solely as Iranians.
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(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom, Editing by Mark Potter)